Pope Leo XIV urges immediate end to ‘barbarity’ of Gaza war

Pope Leo XIV waves the crowd as he leaves after presiding over a mass at San Pancrazio cathedral in Albano Laziale, near Castel Gandolfo, southeast of Rome, on July 20, 2025. (AFP)
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Updated 22 July 2025
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Pope Leo XIV urges immediate end to ‘barbarity’ of Gaza war

  • Pontiff: ‘I once again ask for an immediate end to the barbarity of the war and for a peaceful resolution to the conflict’

CASTEL GANDOLFO, Italy: Pope Leo XIV slammed the “barbarity” of the war in Gaza on Sunday and urged against the “indiscriminate use of force,” just days after a deadly strike by Israel’s military on a Catholic church.

“I once again ask for an immediate end to the barbarity of the war and for a peaceful resolution to the conflict,” Leo said at the end of the Angelus prayer, after three people were killed on Thursday at the territory’s only Catholic church.


Greek police detain 313 in raid at university after mob attacked police

Updated 07 February 2026
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Greek police detain 313 in raid at university after mob attacked police

  • Such attacks against riot police near the university campus are not uncommon
  • Riot police used tear gas and stun grenades to beat back the attackers

THESSALONIKI, Greece: Authorities in Greece on Saturday detained 313 people in a raid on the university campus of the country’s second-largest city, Thessaloniki, after riot police were attacked by mobs of people hurling more than 100 Molotov cocktails.
Greek police said roving groups of people wearing hoods emerged from the campus of the Aristotle University of Thessaloniki in the predawn hours Saturday to attack a squad of riot police. The unit is usually deployed some distance from the campus to quell any disturbances after all-night parties that take place on university grounds.
Police said all 313 people were released without being charged.
Such attacks against riot police near the university campus are not uncommon but it’s the first time that so many people were detained after such a clash during which an unusually high number of firebombs was used.
Riot police used tear gas and stun grenades to beat back the attackers. One officer was taken to a military hospital for burns to his face and leg while a 21-year-old civilian was treated for respiratory problems, police said.
The university said in a statement that off-campus “extremists” in conjunction with some individuals from within university grounds had committed the attacks. They said an investigation is underway to determine if any students had taken part. They added that no permission had been granted for any party to take place on university grounds.